Sry 


Extracts from | 
the Diary of 
Roger Payne 


ERR EERE 


Extracts from the Diary of 
Roger Payne 


Extracts 


FROM 


THE DIARY 
toh ger Se ic 


NEW YORK 
THE HARBOR PRESS 


NOTE 


Roger Payne, in his Diary, “took note of time’ only 
from Tuesday to Saturday: it does not appear that he 
ever took orders ona Monday. The late Mr. G. St—ns, 
with a friendly hand revised the Diary, and sometimes 
amused himself by suggesting humorous amendments to 
written orders of the customers of poor Roger; whose 
simplicity was proverbial. 


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ROGER PAYNE 


O the late Roger Payne, foreign Bibh- 

ographers are constrained to yield the 
palm of excellence tn the art of bookbinding. 
He worked alone in a small apartment, where 
every thing was huddled together’ on the same 
shelf were seen old shoes and precious leaves 
—bread and cheese, with editions of the fif- 
teenth century—so that tt would seem next to 
impossible that superb binding should pro- 
ceed from such a place, to decorate the brary 
of a noble Lord, without being either soiled 
or spotted with grease. 

The most difficult bindings were those tn 
which Roger Payne excelled: this ingemous 
man introduced a style of binding, uniting 
elegance with durability, such as no person 
has ever been able to wmtate. He may, indeed, 


be ranked among artists of the greatest mertt: 
the ornaments he employed were chosen with 
classical taste, and were in many tmstances 
appropriated to the subject of the work, or the 
age and time of the author; and each book 
of his binding was accompanted by a written 
description of the ornaments in a most precise 
and curious Style. 

Those who are not accustomed to see book- 
binding executed in any other than the com- 
mon manner, can have no idea of the merits 
of Roger Payne, who lwed without a rwal, and 
(we fear) died without a successor im 1797. 
Fis remains were decently interred at the ex- 
pense of that respectable and upright book- 
seller, the late Mr. Thomas Payne; to whom 
(though in no degree related to the book- 
binder,) the admirers of this art may feel 
themselves indebted for the prolongation of 
his existence; Mr. P. having for the last eight 


years of his life supphed him with regular 
pecumary assistance, both Jor the support of 
lis body and the performance of hus work. 


Horne’s Introduction 


to Bibliography, 181 4. 


re pvttaterd x 
ee ® er 
ian Eee 


Esk CE 3 COR: 
RAGE 


Sressyiaceante KK shesschceaoth 
FER 36 36% SE FEE ROE I SE 26 Re SE FE HSE 
meter. ER i the Reverend T. S. 

Smug to a brother member of the Bublio- 
mamacal Club, giving an account how, 
where, and when he discovered the Diary 


of K oger Payne, of bibltopegistic memory. 


My dear Mundulus, 


Al, when he discovered the 

pattern-book of Nero's tailor, 
could not have rejoiced more than [| 
did at rescuing from perdition the 
Diary of our deceased and dearly be- 
loved Roger. You indeed witnessed 
our bibliomaniacal grief at the last 
anniversary, not of hope deferred, 
but of expectation absolutely annihi- 

I 


lated.—Lust, O list, to the joyous tid- 
ings which I now communicate. 
Passing one crisp frosty morning 
along the western terrace that leads 
from my humble abode to the great 
city, the mart of science graphical and 
typographical, my. eye, wandering 
over the minute fragments of Iitere 
scripte that lay scattered in the hol- 
low ways, was suddenly arrested by 
the appearance of a small pacquet, 
squeezed flat in a rut, resembling a 
foul proof dropped from the oily fin- 
gers of a printers devil, and which 
had apparently undergone the pres- 
sure of at least one thousand chaises, 
hacks, stage-coaches, and higler's carts, 
—well! exclaimed I to myself, what 
have we here? Unloosing the frozen 
and clotted string, and unfolding 
2 


with trembling fingers the congealed 
mass, | could with difhculty make out 
the words “carefully sewed, “fine real 
morocco, “richly tooled,” &c. Ah! thought 
I, this must be a bibliopegistic trea- 
sure indeed! At that moment my 
friend Membranaceus wheeling along 
(not in a tandem, tilbury, or tumble- 
down, but in a snug easy chariot), 
hailed me: holding exultingly up the 
precious scrap between my finger 
and my thumb, | desired that we 
should hasten with all speed, and de- 
posit the frozen mass into the hands 
of the Wellington of Bibhopegists; 
who, immediately with coaxing care, 
ably, and most skilfully, loosened the 
icy chain; and unfolded to our sur- 
prised and delighted eyes— what 
think you?—even the Diary of that 


3 


hero of the needle, the shears, and the 
stamping-iron—the renowned Roger. 
This valuable manuscript was — 
found near the sign of the Devil and 
Bag of Nails, where Roger, a frequent 
inmate of the jolly host, was accus- 
tomed hebdomadally to solace him- 
self by inhaling the fumes of nicotian, 
and luxuriating in copious libations 
of barley-broth. On his decease it 
appeared that his body wardrobe was — 
sold by Carbuncle the said host of the 
“Dewi,” who had probably some small 
claims on poor Roger for barley com- 
forts, to Solomon Leu, a worthy and 
conscientious itinerant dealer in fad- 
ed woollens; had there ‘not fortu- 
nately beenasmallaperture in Roger's 
pockets, or Solomon's bag, or both, this 
invaluable Diary would inevitably 
4 


have been shredded into little flut- 
tering paper windmills to amuse the 
young Israelites in the purlieus of 
Rag-fair—one starts with horror at 
the bare supposition of such a pro- 
fanation! 

Roger by his nuncupative will de- 
vised the said Manuscript to his pro- 
tector and kind master Benevolus, who 
had occasionally granted hima license 
of free indulgence in Carbuncle’s snug 
back parlour. 

Our next Anniversary will be a 
memorable day— 

Roger Payne's Diary is now print- 
ing under my direction on superfine 
grand-eagle, exclusively for the mem- 
bers of our enlightened club. Eluct- 
dative of the subject I intend to draw 
a parallel, in the manner-of Plutarch, 


Dis 


between Phillatius, the father of book- 
binding, and Roger Payne; to which 
will be added, an Elaborate Disser- 
tation, after the fashion of that grave 
and learned critic Peter Burman, on the 
old mode of currying horse-hides, and 
planing oak-boards, used 1n antique 
bindings; together with a brilliant en- 
graved specimen of the dim-tooling 
of the ancients. 

Tam, my dear Mundulus, affection- 
ately yours, ne 

Lee 


Extracts from the Diary 


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Extracts 


iiewevied idee DT AR Y 
OF 
EE Kotenceh ne 


Saturday. Took Sir John Trusthold’s 
six folio volumes of Turnpike Tickets 
to his house in C—— square, No. 1 
to 3690 from 1757 to 1771: bound in 
the best Levant morocco, nicely in- 
laid, with a ruled border round each— 
squared true with the compasses— 
the dirty ones required several wash- 
ings to take out the dirt and grease 


9 


—made them quite clean; sewed with 
the best silk; no false bands—made 
them open well—took a great deal of 
time finishing. Sir John’s arms on the 
sides being obliged to be worked off 
plain first, and afterwards the gold 
laid on, and worked off again—care- 
fully and honestly done. 

@ Wednesday.Sir John* gave me seven- 
teen volumes of small outlandish 
books, Elsevurs he called them, for 
binding in plain morocco, single lines 
—ordered to be well beat to stretch 
them out, and with stilted boards to 
make them look tall. Sir John told me 
to be sure to put plenty of alum in 
my paste, and bind the worms, to pre- 
vent them from breeding. 

* Sir John was a celebrated margin measurer, and was 
vastly proud of his regiment of grenadier Elzevirs. S. 


IO 


€ Thursday, Went to Miss Sukey Tama- 
rind again, having been at her house 
seven times before, to take orders 
about her fine coloured copy of Swam- 
adam's Insects—pattern-tools to be 
cut—gave me a drawing to cut by, 


* Miss Sukey Tamarind, a great West Indian heiress, 
was married to young Mr. Treddle, son and heir to Mr. 
Deputy Treddle of the Weaver's Company. The Deputy, 
who is very rich, expects shortly to be created Baron of 
Treddletown. Young Mrs. T. or Lady T. that is to be, 1s 
supposed, among her female friends, to have the sweetest 
taste imaginable: her copy of Swammerdam, so sumptu- 
ously bound by Roger, isa galaxy of exterior decoration. 
Mr. Brasson, son of Sir John Brasson, Master of the 
Brazier's Company, who has an eye to the eldest daugh- 
ter of Mr. Deputy T. suggested the beautiful scrolls on 
the sides, from having repeatedly contemplated the 
twisty lines upon a large brass warming-pan hung up in 
his father’s counting house: the studdings consist of vari- 
ous species of neuroptera traversing their orbits; and give 
the whole an appearance of a planetary-tablet; the large 
papilio aurus appears of the natural size, in the centre. Mr. 
Brasson being reckoned a man of smart wit, says it looks 


like a map of the ten stages to the land of matrimony. S. 


II 


of small grubby snail-like creeping- 
things, a great many zig-zaggerys, 
and a large butterfly. 

Miss 'T’. said she had given mea 
great deal of trouble in calling so 
often. I said no, Madam, by no means 
—she ordered Jeremy to drawa tank- 
ard of strong ale, which I was very 
thankful for. Jeremy very civil, seein g 
I was rather a favourite—drank part 
of a second tankard with Jeremy— 
shall be very glad to attend so civil 
a lady at all times. 

Friday. Waited on Mr. Gorge-Book, a 
great collector of old songs, strange 
stories, and doleful ditties: he told 
me the week before thathe had tothe — 
tune of some tuns to bind: before I 
reached the grass-plat, was fearful 
that he had mistakingly sent for me 
12 


instead of the cooper, seein g so many 
barrels about, which I could not help 
looking at and admiring: on entering, 
however, right glad was I to see heaps 
and piles of books from the thres- 
hold upwards; plenty of work here 
thought I; hundreds of weight and 
tuns indeed: rather fearful in going up 
stairs; thought I heard the timbers 
crack: wading through long alleys 
and rows of quires and bound, was 
shewn into a small room—did not 
see any person, concluded it was the 
upper waiting parlour. poy a 
voice called out “this way; —winding 
about, at last found Mr. Gorge-Book 
blocked up in a corner near the fire: 
he had just finished collating a little 

book called the “Mousings of Tibby the 
Black Cat;’ which he told me he had 


2. 


bought at the last Chumcheat sale for 
twenty-six pounds and fifteen shill- 
ings; and that it was a unuch." It so 
happened, as I told him, that I had the 
week before bound a very fine copy 
of the same unuch for Miss Felissa 
C.—who hasa very large collection 


inthe Pussy line: this lady was avery 


good customer of mine, and I took 
great pains to make her unuchas beau- 
tiful as possible, by picking the best 
leaves out of three copies: this I reck- 
oned one of my best performances; 
and as it gave great satisfaction to 
Miss Felissa, thought I could not bet- 
ter recommend myself to Mr. Gorge- 


Book, than by telling him how tastily 


* Without adverting to the gender of the cat, it 1s con- 
jectured Roger mispelled the word, which probably 


means unique. S. 


14 


. 


it was bound—when I talked of the 
three copies, | observed him to make 
a wry face, but could not guess why: 
after a little shaking of the under lip, 
all was smooth again—being always 
very careful not to offend, I concluded 
he was not displeased with my be- 
haviour, but that something unpleas- 
ant at that moment came across him. 
Desired his Cat-Book to be boundex- 
actly in the same way, that is in gray 
tortoise shell, with a great variety of 
cats-eye tooling on the back and sides, 
and the inside lined with water-tabby— 
promised me “W1ts’ Bedlam’ and nine- 
teen more unuchs, as he called them, - 
when | had finished the Cat. 

(Thursday, Carried home the Cat- 
Book —Mr. Gorge-Book called me a 
noddy, for mislettering Mousings 


2. 


Musings. 1 defended myself by tell- 
ing him, Mr. S. said that mousings 
was wrong, and that it ought to be 
as I lettered it: Miss Felissa's copy 
was done the same way. 

Mr. Gorge-Book could not find the 
unuchs he promised; had been search- 
ing all the morning, from pile No. 1 
to 97 without success—ordered me 
to call again. 

On going out, saw in the window- 
seat a great curiosity placed under 
a magnifying-glass, labelled in large 
letters, “A Book Worm;’ near it was 
a short printed account: [had leave to 
take a copy, and here it is, in_A Letter 
from Tubal Typo, Clerk, geving an account 
of a voracious creature, Gc. Ge. | 

“This worm was caught alive and 
hearty in a saleroom, near Covent 


16 


Garden, in the very act of Book Mur- 
der:—by feasting on good black letter, 
served on stout paper, he became, as 
you see, a fine fat fellow. This insat- 
able cormorant is not a bipedical but 
a polypedical animal; it has a small 
blunt head furnished on either side 
with a cluster of eyes, and two long 
horns before, curiously ringed or 
knobbed, and bristled like the weed 
called cat's-tail; the hinder part of the 
creature terminates with three tails 
resembling the long horns on the 
head. Mercy on us! horns before and 
horns behind! It is really blood-cur- 
dling to think of the ravages com- 
mitted by so formidable an animal, 
among our most precious rarities. This 
same vermicular personage in the sum- 
mer 1s often observed very nimbly to 


vik 


scud and pack away to some lurking 
cranney, to protect itself from dan- 
ger. Would that we could invent a 
black-letter trap to ensnare these des- 
tructive fere nature. 

“My friend Dr. Grub once detected 
one, not only in the shape of a fly, 
but in the act of flying, and appeared to 
have put on his wings for the sake of 
some desperate predatory excursion 
—probably to deposit its larva within 
the morocco joints of a Roger Payne 
bound Clarke's Cesar Chart Max! 

“Another species, called eruditus, 
directs its attacks to the printed part 
only —one may say this is indeed 
sucking out the very heart's blood of 
a book. Horresco referens! 

“Itis melancholy sometimes to see 
the small shot pepperings in old black- 

18 


letter volumes that have beenattacked 
by these devouring Polypeds—they 
nibble at Hebrew, eat largely of Greek, 
riot upon Latin, and satiate them- 
selves with Italian: in short these ter- 
rible Book-dragons play old goose- 
berry wherever they get a footing.” 
€ Tuesday. Mrs. Spinbrain sent her Ded- 
ication copy of “Henrietta Clemen- 
tina Hazletop; or the Fair Maniac 
of the Wood,’ printed on fine hot- 
pressed paper, to be bound ina splen- 
did way, as it was intended to be 
presented to Lady Jultana Tinsel. Mrs. 
S. had consulted with her publisher, 
Mr. Prate, who brought the book; he 
is a clever man, anda learned Latinist 
—the following is a copy of his direc- 
tions. Mr. Prate presents his comphi- 
_ ments to Mrs. Spinbrain, conceives that 


es 


the Dedication copy of “Henrietta 
Hazletop” to be presented to Lady 
Juliana Tinsel, should be bound in the 
brightest scarlet morocco that can 
be got; nicely inlaid with yellow and 
green compartments, scolloped, and 
richly tooled: the inside, bright yel- 
low silk with a broad mazarine blue 
border; and tied in the front with a 
tassel, richly tagged: Mr. Prate begs 
leave to say that he is much indebted 
for some hints on the subject to a 
curious little volume pointed out to 
him by Dr. Blundus, entitled “De Caliga 
aurea Neronts,” in which there 1sa fold- | 
Ing cut representing the embroid- 
ery on Nero's waistcoat. The author 
informs us that the Emperor wore 
spangles, or tassels, to his small-clothes. 
Mr. Prate therefore 1s of opinion a tas- 
20 


sel in the front would add greatly to 
the rich appearance of the book, and 
consequently be much approved of 
by Lady Juliana. 

@ Friday. A tall foreign gentleman 
brought, what he called a “tompting 
book, to be bind in mine best mo- 
rocco golded and ruled:’—this civil 
gentleman often called to see how I 
got on—was very sorry one day to 
see my Jack! make too free with his 
large powdered club, by untying the 
*This was the identical tempting Aldus which that arrant 
bibliomaniac Count Reviczky always carried in his pocket: 


at book-auctions he would oftentimes slily draw it out, 
and thereby seduceand ensnare young aspirants. N. 1b. Bib. 


} Roger's favourite monkey. 

Jack from his nibbling propensities doubtless was a bib- 
liomaniac in his way. I have been credibly informed that 
he would often attentively pore over long primer, or 
large lower-case gothic, with peculiar gravity—who can 


say Jack was not duly qualified to bea M.N.C? S. 
21 


ribbon, and daubing and greasing the 
gentleman's fine bottle-green coat all 
the way down, and makinga sad dust 
in my workshop. | 

Jack had likely been mbbling some 
time at the pomatum, as the gentle- 
man sat near his stall on the shelf, and 
was not seen by us—went down to 
my next door neighbour the barber— 
soon brushed up the gentleman, and 
put all to nghts again. 
€ Wednesday. Took home the “tompt- 
ing book’—the gentleman well pleased, 
paid for the binding 5s. 6d.—promised 
to be a good customer—hoped I had — 
not belaver'd the monkey. 


22 


pce ae aree g 
Monument 


POLE MEMORY 
OF | 
basin hh ne 


HE Bibliomaniacal Club has it in 
contemplation to erect a monu- 
ment tothe memory of Roger Payne, 
on the scite of theancient Taberna Lit- 
eraria (now the Mew's-Gate), wherein 
modern times “honest Tom Payne’ 
fixed his standard. 
In the venerable and classic shed, 
still erect amid the levelling hand of 


oe, 


“modern improvement, bibliomani- 
acal and bibhiopegistic lectures are to 
be delivered by the associate elders, 
and where the future meetings of the 
Club will be holden. The first toast 
to be given by the president, at the 
next anniversary, will be drunk in bar- 
ley-broth, in honour of Roger. A copy 
of the monumental tablet is to be ex- 
hibited to the members, with the fol- 
lowing inscription: 


Underneath, 
compressed within an oaken cover, 
lie the remains of 
7 ROGER PAYNE; 
who first introduced a new style in the art 
Bibliopegistic ; 
and who A. D. 1787, or earlier, exercised 
that art within these precincts. 


In remembrance 


24 


of one whose works, by his manifold skill, were 
proof against the ravages of worms; 
and who, had he survived to later times, 
might have rendered 
even black letier'd lore, from the’ 
consequences of neglect and decay, 
Imperishable. 
This monument, 
with unfeigned sorrow, was raised by the 
NIBBLE-BIB CLUB, 
A. D. MDCCCXXI. 


NATHANIEL N. B. Prasgs. | 


Height of the monument, thirty- 
one feet, being the exact number of 
the members of the Nibble-Bib Club. 
On the sinister side depends a chain, 
acorn-shape, having therein linked the 
folio volume mouldedby Roger when 
a child, of peeled bark from oaken and 
birched trees in Windsor Forest: it 


— 


it V aX 


F 


ai ii 


" Sits 


Sl 


is placed in a wooden surtout, care- 
fully glued, and covered with lead in 
the form of the interior book; painted 
of a glowing scarlet, with imitation 
brass corners and clasps; the whole 
hermetically sealed, and locked with 
_ Bramah’s best patent: and as secure 
as the books of Homer, deposited in 
olden time by Alexander the Great. 
On the dexter side, also pending 
from a chain in the shape of vine-leaf 
tendrils, are two capacious amphore, 
inscribed in large German black letter, 
Jusculum hordeaceum bis concoctum, that 
is, barley-broth twice brewed. Above 
the pedestal, or beating-stone, lie the 
following valuable works, “The Cor- 
dyale;’ “The Horse, the Sheepe and the 
Ghoos;’ “A Tretyse of Love,” and “History 
of Reynart the Foxe,” all by Caxton, 


27 


and restored by the hands of the’ 
immortal Roger. Resting on these 
comely tomes appears the cote-armure 
of the Nibble-Bib Club, surmounted 
by an Earl's coronet; on the pyramidal 
points, for balls, are small biblioma- 
niacs heads with calf-skin caps. On 
the base, in relief, is placed the head 
of Roger: the shears, the trenchant- 
blade, the press, and the stamping- 
iron, ornament the corners. 

Behold, gentle reader, the monu- 
ment here described in the preceding 
cut, drawn, with great precision, by 
that most able Artist, Mr. ———. 


28° 


Five hundred and twenty-five copies of this book have 
been printed at The Harbor Press for the members of 
The American Insutute of Graphic Arts. A special 
edition of one hundred and seventy-five copies, numbered 


and printed on hand-made paper are offered for sale. 


tea sci 


r ahah ae Hy 2 
n "y 
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